History of Childhood in the Americas

The transition from the protected status of childhood into adulthood in the United States varies across class, age, socioeconomic, and legal status, but how does law intersect with rites of passage in coming of age experiences with youths in Latin America? How have societies in the Americas define the shifting notions of childhood and adolescence and how have youths experience coming of age? This course will familiarize students with how legal regimes in Latin America and the United States define the fluid parameters of childhood, adolescence and adulthood. Students will learn to recognize the role of law and the contradictions in how youths experience the emotional, legal, political, and cultural transition of coming of age.